1.
SNOOPING INTO
GOOGLE’S INSIGHTS
How to target the right content to the
right customers at the right time.

2.
@STATrob
#SearchLove

3.
DO YOU REMEMBER THE NAME OF
THE ACTOR FROM THAT SCIFI
MOVIE WITH THE SHORT OLD GUY
WITH WEIRD EARS?
@STATrob

4.
REMEMBER BEFORE GOOGLE?
How did you get the answers you needed?
@STATrob

5.
INSTANT GRATIFICATION IS THE
NAME OF THE GAME FOR GOOGLE.
Their goal is to give you the answers you need. Fast.
@STATrob

6.
THEY’VE CHANGED THE WORLD.
And they’ve changed human behaviour.
@STATrob

7.
[NAME OF BAD GUY
FROM HUDSON HAWK]
Google isn’t good at this query. They totally suck, right?
@STATrob

8.
GOOGLE IS A VICTIM OF
THEIR OWN SUCCESS.
They have changed our expectations for information
retrieval and they have to adapt to those changes.
@STATrob

9.
GOOGLE IS CHANGING THE RULES.
BUT, THEY ALSO HAVE TO PLAY BY
THE NEW RULES.
@STATrob

10.
IT’S LIKE A GIANT DRAWING A
MAP WHILE ITS FOOTSTEPS
ALTER THE LANDSCAPE.
@STATrob

11.
SERPS ARE THE FRONTEND TO
GOOGLE’S MULTI-BILLION-DOLLAR
CONSUMER RESEARCH MACHINE.
@STATrob

12.
BY PAYING ATTENTION TO THE
SERPS, WE CAN SNOOP ON
GOOGLE’S RESEARCH.
And we can learn what our customers are
looking for when they search for something.
@STATrob

13.
LET’S TALK INTENT.
@STATrob

14.
CONSUMER SEARCH INTENT.
There are three key stages of search intent
when making consumer searches online.
@STATrob

15.
THE INFORMATIONAL STAGE IS
THE START OF THE PATH TO
PURCHASE.
@STATrob

16.
LET’S MAKE SMOOTHIES!
INFORMATIONAL STAGE:
• [blenders]
• [smoothie blenders]
• [what is a food processor]
• [difference between blender and juicer]
@STATrob

17.
“They are not directly transactional,
and may never result in an exchange of
goods, services, or monies, but they’re
not purely informational either.”
RAND FISHKIN, MOZ
@STATrob

18.
LET’S MAKE SMOOTHIES!
COMMERCIAL STAGE:
• [quiet blenders]
• [heavy duty blender review]
• [best blender for smoothies]
• [combined blender and juicer]
@STATrob

19.
LET’S MAKE SMOOTHIES!
TRANSACTIONAL STAGE:
• [buy blendtec blender]
• [blendtec professional 800 cost]
• [blendtec blender free shipping]
• [blendtec coupons]
@STATrob

20.
AT EACH STAGE OF THE FUNNEL,
THE SEARCHER HAS A
DIFFERENT INTENT.
@STATrob

21.
“…demographics don't help us
understand what we really need to
know — what consumers are looking
for in an exact moment or where
they are looking to find it.”
THINK WITH GOOGLE
@STATrob

22.
SEARCHER INTENT IS THE
NEW DEMOGRAPHICS.
@STATrob

23.
INTENT BEATS IDENTITY.
IMMEDIACY BEATS LOYALTY.
In order to be where the searcher is looking, we need
to understand their intent.
@STATrob

24.
THE RESEARCH
@STATrob

25.
14 PRODUCT CATEGORIES,
542 QUERIES:
• Music (40 core queries)
• Computers (42 core queries)
• Sports & outdoors (38 core queries)
• And so on.
@STATrob

26.
EXAMPLE KEYWORD MODIFICATIONS
APPLIANCES ELECTRONICS PET SUPPLIES
INFORMATIONAL blender lcd tv cat brush
COMMERCIAL blender reviews best lcd tv compare cat brushes
TRANSACTIONAL buy blender lcd tv free shipping cat brush coupons

27.
KEYWORD RESEARCH IS
MORE ART THAN SCIENCE.
Your keyword lists will be more nuanced than ours.
@STATrob

28.
SIMPLE SHARE OF VOICE SCORING
WEIGHT SEARCH VOLUME SHARE OF VOICE SCORE
Rank 1 1 x 1000 = 1000
Rank 2 0.9 x 1000 = 900
Rank 3 0.8 x 1000 = 800
… … … …
Rank 10 0.1 x 1000 = 100

29.
DON’T FORGET
THE DATA FROM OUR RESEARCH
IS SPECIFIC TO OUR KEYWORD
SET. YOUR RESULTS WILL DIFFER.
@STATrob

30.
I’M HERE TO SHOW YOU WHAT’S
POSSIBLE. FOCUS ON THESE
METHODS, RATHER THAN THE DATA.
@STATrob

31.
FOR EACH STAGE OF INTENT,
WE MAPPED THE SERP.
@STATrob

32.
FEATURED SNIPPETS

33.
IMAGES

34.
NEWS

35.
PLACES

36.
PEOPLE ALSO ASK

37.
VIDEO

38.
SHOPPING

39.
QUESTION ONE
HOW CAN WE UNLOCK GOOGLE’S
INSIGHTS INTO WHAT SEARCHERS
ARE LOOKING FOR AT EACH STAGE?
@STATrob

40.
QUESTION TWO
WHAT POINTS OF LEVERAGE DO
WE HAVE IN EACH STAGE TO MAKE
SURE WE’RE VISIBLE AND USEFUL?
@STATrob

41.
QUESTION THREE
CAN WE REVERSE-ENGINEER THE
WINNING STRATEGIES OF KEY
COMPETITORS AT EACH STAGE?
@STATrob

42.
HERE’S A 10,000-FOOT VIEW
OF WHAT WE FOUND.
@STATrob

43.
ORGANIC RESULTS RULE.
10%
90%
ORGANIC
ALL OTHERS

44.
BE THERE. BE USEFUL. BE QUICK.
The core organic algorithm does an amazing job of
determining which results are most useful to a given
searcher’s intent.
@STATrob

45.
BUT SHOPPING BOXES
ARE MAAAAAAJOR.
40%
60%
SHOPPING
NON-SHOPPING

46.
THESE ARE OUR
POINTS OF LEVERAGE.
7%
7%
9%
23%
25%
29% IMAGES
VIDEO
ANSWERS
PLACES
PEOPLE ALSO ASK
NEWS

47.
INFORMATIONAL
INTENT STAGE.
@STATrob

48.
TOPOLOGY OF THE
INFORMATIONAL SERP
5%
5%
8%
18%
21%
42%
SHOPPING
IMAGES
NEWS
VIDEOS
PEOPLE ALSO ASK
ANSWERS
PLACES

49.
SHOPPING RESULTS FOR OUR
KEYWORDS IN THE
INFORMATIONAL STAGE.
42%
@STATrob

50.
IMMEDIACY BEATS LOYALTY.
Google knows that some people just want it now.
Fast and cheap.
@STATrob

51.
IMAGE RESULTS FOR
OUR KEYWORDS IN THE
INFORMATIONAL STAGE.
21%
@STATrob

52.
IMAGES ARE A GREAT UX
FOR UNREFINED QUERIES.
They’re an easy way to find the exact
model, style or colour you’re looking for.
@STATrob

53.
The view when a searcher clicks on an image.

54.
NEWS RESULTS FOR
OUR KEYWORDS IN THE
INFORMATIONAL STAGE.
18%
@STATrob

55.
WHICH RESULT TYPES HAVE
THE HIGHEST AVERAGE SEARCH VOLUME?
0
30,000
60,000
90,000
120,000
SHOPPING IMAGES NEWS VIDEOS P.A.A. ANSWERS PLACES
0K
28K33K33K
117K
34K
51K

56.
LET’S EVALUATE THE POTENTIAL
OF GOING AFTER NEWS BOXES.
@STATrob

57.
102 MEDIA SITES WITH 128 NEWS RESULTS
Results
0
1
2
3
4
5
DIGITALTRENDS.COM YAHOO.COM BUSINESSWIRE.COM NEWATLAS.COM PCADVISOR.CO.UK
3333
5

58.
WHICH NEWS RESULTS HAVE
THE HIGHEST AVERAGE SEARCH VOLUME?
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
CNET.COM ENGADGET.COM FORBES.COM RELAYMEDIA.COM COOLHUNTING.COM
368K368K
673K673K673K

59.
NEWS RESULTS SUFFER FROM
AN IRRELEVANCY PROBLEM.
@STATrob

60.
[jacket] (search volume: 54,450)

61.
[desk] (search volume: 196,800)

62.
[best laptop] (search volume: 44,400)

63.
TWEETABLE TIP
DON’T GO RUNNING AFTER NEWS
RESULTS JUST BECAUSE THEY
RANK ON HIGH-TRAFFIC SERPS.
@STATrob

64.
VIDEO RESULTS FOR
OUR KEYWORDS IN THE
INFORMATIONAL STAGE.
8%
@STATrob

65.
Video pack/carousel

66.
Stand-alone video result

67.
7 SITES WITH VIDEO RESULTS
Results
0
35
70
YOUTUBE PCGAMER LIFEHACKER VICE EBAY MASHABLE STANCE
111122
62

68.
FEATURED SNIPPET RESULTS
FOR OUR KEYWORDS IN THE
INFORMATIONAL STAGE.
5%
@STATrob

69.
LET’S LOOK AT THE POTENTIAL
OF GOING AFTER THESE
FEATURED SNIPPETS.
@STATrob

70.
WHICH STYLE OF FEATURED SNIPPET
IS THE MOST COMMON?
Results
0
10
20
30
40
50
LIST PARAGRAPH TABLE
2
39
1

71.
AVERAGE SEARCH VOLUME PER
FEATURED SNIPPET RESULT FOR
OUR INFORMATIONAL KEYWORDS.
23,300
@STATrob

72.
WIKIPEDIA IS THE OBVIOUS INCUMBENT HERE.
Results
0
5
10
15
20
WIKIPEDIA.ORG AMAZON.COM BESTBUY.COM XEROX.COM OFFICEDEPOT.COM
1
22
3
17

73.
WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED
ABOUT THE SERPS FOR OUR
INFORMATIONAL KEYWORDS?
@STATrob

74.
LESSON 1
RECOGNIZE WHEN YOU’LL NEED A
PAID STRATEGY TO WIN.
@STATrob

75.
THE PREVALENCE OF SHOPPING
BOXES CAN’T BE IGNORED.
We need a paid strategy to give searchers what they
want here.
@STATrob

76.
LESSON 2
LOOK FOR STRONG BIAS
TOWARDS CERTAIN SITES.
@STATrob

77.
CAN YOU DISPLACE AN
INCUMBENT LIKE WIKIPEDIA?
They dominate the featured snippets in this stage.
Is there really room for us to win there?
@STATrob

78.
LESSON 3
LOOKING AT THE SERP TOPOLOGY
TELLS US WHAT GOOGLE THINKS
THESE SEARCHERS WANT.
@STATrob

79.
IN THIS STAGE, WE SAW
SEARCHER NEEDS BEING MET BY
NEWS, IMAGES, AND ORGANIC.
This is what Google has determined is the best
outcome for these searches.
@STATrob

80.
LESSON 4
NEWS RESULTS ARE OFTEN
CROWDED WITH IRRELEVANT
STORIES.
@STATrob

81.
DON’T JUST BLINDLY CHASE
SEARCH VOLUME.
Look deeper to understand if there’s a real opportunity.
@STATrob

82.
COMMERCIAL
INTENT STAGE.
@STATrob

83.
TOPOLOGY OF THE
COMMERCIAL SERP
12%
13%
10%
59%
SHOPPING
IMAGES
NEWS
VIDEOS
PEOPLE ALSO ASK
ANSWERS
PLACES

84.
WHAT’S THE AVERAGE SHARE OF VOICE
CONTRIBUTION PER RESULT?
SHAREOFVOICESCORE
0
1,500
3,000
4,500
6,000
SHOPPING IMAGES NEWS VIDEOS P.A.A. ANSWERS PLACES
16
1,946
44188
5,184
53
704

85.
LET’S REVERSE-ENGINEER
THE WINNING STRATEGIES
IN THIS STAGE.
@STATrob

86.
WHO HAS THE MOST SHARE OF VOICE
IN THIS STAGE?
SHAREOFVOICESCORE
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
CONSUMER REPORTS TECHRADAR AMAZON CNET PCMAG
308K321K
352K
374K376K

87.
BUT WHO HAS THE MOST RANKINGS?RANKINGS
0
1,750
3,500
CONSUMER REPORTS TECHRADAR AMAZON.COM CNET PCMAG
204230
3,117
138299

88.
WHO IS WINNING WHERE?
SHAREOFVOICESCORE
0K
100K
200K
300K
400K
CONSUMER REPORTS TECHRADAR AMAZON.COM CNET PCMAG
NEWS
VIDEO
ANSWERS
ORGANIC

89.
SEGMENT BY THE QUERY
MODIFIER TO SEE WHICH
RESULT TYPES GOOGLE LIKES.
@STATrob

90.
SERP TOPOLOGY FOR
“BEST” QUERIES
29%
12%
5%
50%
SHOPPING
IMAGES
NEWS
VIDEOS
PEOPLE ALSO ASK
ANSWERS
PLACES

91.
SERP TOPOLOGY FOR
“COMPARE” QUERIES
8%
6%
42%
10%
34%
SHOPPING
IMAGES
NEWS
VIDEOS
PEOPLE ALSO ASK
ANSWERS
PLACES

92.
SERP TOPOLOGY FOR
“NEW” QUERIES
4%
12%
7%
27%
50%
SHOPPING
IMAGES
NEWS
VIDEOS
PEOPLE ALSO ASK
ANSWERS
PLACES

93.
SERP TOPOLOGY FOR
“REVIEWS” QUERIES
26%
24%
4%
42%
SHOPPING
IMAGES
NEWS
VIDEOS
PEOPLE ALSO ASK
ANSWERS
PLACES

94.
DON’T FORGET
GO DEEPER THAN THE SURFACE
DATA. DIG INTO SHARE OF VOICE.
@STATrob

95.
WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED
ABOUT THE SERPS FOR OUR
COMMERCIAL KEYWORDS?
@STATrob

96.
LESSON 1
BY USING SHARE OF VOICE,
MEASURE WHICH DOMAINS ARE
WINNING.
@STATrob

97.
WITH ALMOST 3,000 FEWER
RANKINGS, TECHRADAR STILL
BEAT AMAZON.
Focusing on share-of-voice winners makes the
analysis easier.
@STATrob

98.
LESSON 2
PERFORM SHARE OF VOICE
ANALYSIS ON RESULT TYPES TO
ASSESS THEIR POTENTIAL.
@STATrob

99.
WE CAN REVERSE ENGINEER
TECHRADAR’S WINNING STRATEGY:
FEATURED SNIPPETS.
@STATrob

100.
LESSON 3
SEGMENT EVEN DEEPER ON
QUERY MODIFIERS LIKE “BEST”
TO SEE HOW THE SERPS ADAPT.
@STATrob

101.
FOR “BEST” SEARCHERS WANT
SNIPPETS. FOR “COMPARE” THEY
WANT VIDEOS.
This is where you get some of the most actionable insight
into searcher intent.
@STATrob

102.
TRANSACTIONAL
INTENT STAGE.
@STATrob

103.
TOPOLOGY OF THE
TRANSACTIONAL SERP
9%
7%
11%
69%
SHOPPING
IMAGES
NEWS
VIDEOS
PEOPLE ALSO ASK
ANSWERS
PLACES

104.
WHO HAS THE MOST SHARE OF VOICE
IN THIS STAGE?
SHAREOFVOICESCORE
0K
125K
250K
375K
500K
AMAZON.COM WALMART.COM OVERSTOCK.COM BESTBUY.COM SEARSOUTLET.COM
104K
165K
205K
397K400K

105.
WHO IS WINNING WHERE?
SHAREOFVOICESCORE
0K
100K
200K
300K
400K
AMAZON.COM WALMART.COM OVERSTOCK.COM BESTBUY.COM SEARSOUTLET.COM
ORGANIC
NEWS
VIDEO
ANSWERS

106.
TWEETABLE TIP
THE FURTHER DOWN THE
FUNNEL YOU GO, THE MORE
DISTILLED THE SERP BECOMES.
@STATrob

107.
THIS IS GOOD OL’ FASHIONED SEO!
(Ok, and PPC.)
@STATrob

108.
ARE YOU RANKING HIGH?
RANKING THE RIGHT CONTENT?
@STATrob

109.
WHAT KIND OF CONTENT
IS AMAZON RANKING?
RANKINGS
0
400
800
1200
1600
CATEGORY PRODUCT COUPON OTHER
104
706
1,590

110.
WHAT ABOUT WALMART’S CONTENT?
RANKINGS
0
400
800
1200
1600
CATEGORY PRODUCT
162
1,008

111.
AND OVERSTOCK’S CONTENT?
RANKINGS
0
400
800
1200
1600
CATEGORY PRODUCT BUYERS' GUIDE
1011
422

112.
WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED
ABOUT THE SERPS FOR OUR
TRANSACTIONAL KEYWORDS?
@STATrob

113.
LESSON 1
THE DEEPER YOU GO IN THE
FUNNEL, THE MORE YOU HAVE
TO RELY ON ORGANIC RANKINGS.
@STATrob

114.
ORGANIC RESULTS WERE THE BEST
WAY TO PUSH TRAFFIC IN THIS STAGE.
Catering content towards universal results isn’t going to win
the day when searchers are this low in the funnel.
@STATrob

115.
LESSON 2
ANALYZE RANKING URLS TO FIND
OUT WHAT UX SATISFIES THE
SEARCHER’S INTENT.
@STATrob

116.
THE MAJORITY OF PAGES WE
SAW RANKING HIGHEST WERE
CATEGORY PAGES.
We also identified a few potential areas, like coupons,
where we might be able to develop new content.
@STATrob

117.
SO WHAT CONCLUSIONS
HAVE WE REACHED?
@STATrob

118.
GOOGLE’S ADVICE
YOU HAVE TO BE THERE, BE
USEFUL, AND BE QUICK.
@STATrob

119.
HOW TO “BE THERE”
QUALITY KEYWORD RESEARCH
AND THOROUGH SEGMENTATION
BY INTENT STAGES IS CRUCIAL.
@STATrob

120.
HOW TO “BE THERE”
YOU KNOW IF YOU’RE “THERE”
BY MEASURING SHARE OF VOICE.
You can break this out by stage or result type.
@STATrob

121.
HOW TO “BE USEFUL”
LOOK AT SERP TOPOLOGIES TO
FIND OUT WHAT GOOGLE THINKS
IS USEFUL TO SEARCHERS.
@STATrob

122.
SERP TOPOLOGY FOR
“COMPARE” QUERIES
8%
6%
42%
10%
34%
SHOPPING
IMAGES
NEWS
VIDEOS
PEOPLE ALSO ASK
ANSWERS
PLACES

123.
HOW TO “BE USEFUL”
CREATE STRATEGIC CONTENT
EXPERIENCES THAT SATISFY
SEARCHERS’ IMMEDIATE NEEDS.
@STATrob

124.
HOW TO “BE QUICK”
OPTIMIZE SITE SPEED AND
GET RIGHT TO THE POINT.
Omit everything that distracts from the immediate
needs of the searcher.
@STATrob

125.
HOW MANY UNIVERSAL RESULTS
ARE THERE IN EACH STAGE?
0%
50%
100%
INFORMATIONAL COMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONAL
10%11%15%

126.
TOPOLOGY OF THE
INFORMATIONAL SERP
5%
5%
8%
18%
21%
42%
SHOPPING
IMAGES
NEWS
VIDEOS
PEOPLE ALSO ASK
ANSWERS
PLACES

127.
TOPOLOGY OF THE
COMMERCIAL SERP
12%
13%
10%
59%
SHOPPING
IMAGES
NEWS
VIDEOS
PEOPLE ALSO ASK
ANSWERS
PLACES

128.
TOPOLOGY OF THE
TRANSACTIONAL SERP
9%
7%
11%
69%
SHOPPING
IMAGES
NEWS
VIDEOS
PEOPLE ALSO ASK
ANSWERS
PLACES

129.
WHICH RESULT TYPE HAS
THE HIGHEST AVERAGE SHARE OF VOICE?SHAREOFVOICESCORE
0
1,500
3,000
4,500
6,000
ORGANIC SHOPPING EVERYTHING ELSE
2,997
5,312
1,992

130.
KEY TAKEAWAY
OPTIMIZING FOR UNIVERSAL
RESULTS IS THE BEST WAY TO
ENSURE YOU’RE SATISFYING
SEARCHER INTENT.
@STATrob

131.
KEY TAKEAWAY
WE CAN SNOOP INTO GOOGLE’S
FINDINGS ON SEARCH INTENT BY
LOOKING AT SERP TOPOLOGY.
@STATrob

132.
KEY TAKEAWAY
AS WE MOVE DOWN THE INTENT
FUNNEL, DIFFERENT RESULT TYPES
RISE AND FALL IN VALUE.
@STATrob

133.
KEY TAKEAWAY
WITH KNOWLEDGE OF INTENT, WE
CAN CRAFT THE RIGHT CONTENT
FOR THE RIGHT MOMENT OF THE
SEARCHER’S JOURNEY.
@STATrob

134.
THIS ANALYSIS IS EASY TO DO.
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED:
• A SERP tracking tool that can break out result types
• Search volume data
• A share of voice model of your choosing
• Excel or SQL
@STATrob

135.
DOWNLOAD THE
WHITEPAPER:
GETSTAT.COM/SEARCHLOVE